Hen sitting for 10 days and moved to different nesting box with no eggs...

[Perris]

Our hen, Bernadette, has been sitting for about 20 days or so,

Then the eggs have started the hatch process and you should not touch them. Move her back on them, do not move them to her.
4 hours is nothing. They should all still hatch - if they are under the hen when they open up. Edited to add, this is assuming you haven't already picked them all up and turned them over checking temperature etc. in which case, who knows? But it is still worth trying to set her back on them. She may even be able to hear them cheeping inside the shell.

 

[ducklover128]

I'm sorry, that's a typo. She's been sitting for 10 days, not 20. We haven't touched her eggs other than to lay our hand on top of them to see if they were warm.

 

[Perris]

great - there's real hope then. Is she back on now?

 

[wrathsfarm]

I agree.... move the broody.

In my experience I've never had a hen get attached to certain eggs.
It's the same nest she usually wants to goes back to, but sometimes they get confused and will get in the wrong nest especially if there's eggs in it.

They just want to sit.

I would suggest if you have no other broodys sitting, to be diligent about collecting eggs as often as you can to prevent her from getting into the wrong nest box. She'll then seek out 'her' eggs.

 

[ducklover128]

Whoth your hen, take one egg and place it next to her so she can see it and knows it is their (touching her feathers but not under her) if she rolls the egg under her give them all to her and keep a close eye on her incase she moves again
If she has no interest in the egg I would leave her for a minute and come back as sometimes they don't like being watched putting their eggs under
If she attacks the egg then I would take all the eggs and put them in an incubator (hope you have one just incase)
Good luck and again I am sorry for your loss I have had many a baby die and it hurts every time

Thank you. It's just been a horrible year for our poor ducks ...I woke up to an absolute nightmare on june 28. My house duck, bff, confidant, emotional support and mental support baby girl, unexpectedly passed away sometime that morning. I'm still devastated, heartbroken and lost. Within a week of her sudden death, a week old baby Muscovy got attacked by a snake and my husband got it and unwrapped the snake from the baby and of course she had to come inside to recover. And of course I started to get attached. She ended up being named after none other than the wonderful Ms. Lydia who always helps when me, or anybody else, has a Muscovy issue or duck issue. About a week went by, and one of our fave Muscovy hens was attacked and murdered. Another week later, our first head Muscovy hen, Mo Scovy, and 3 of her teenage babies, were attacked, the 3 teens were dead when we found them and Mo, who was missing alot of her back meat, died a day later. Another week later, our goose, Ms. Goosey, was attacked and horribly injured, and she died the next day. THEN, I went outside today, and found Ms. Lydia and one of her brothers, murdered.....it was not long after that, we discovered the poor hen who sadly went to the wrong nesting box, and then the poor tiny baby Muscovy who was laying off to the side of the "nursery" , wet, cold and not moving much at all. Brought the baby inside, tried to warm it up, and it died in my hands. Hopefully the poor ducks get a break for a little while. We did have 2 hens hatch out 25 babies, even though one of them died earlier tonight. . You gotta love those little floofy babies though. We have 4 more Muscovy hens sitting on nests, so fingers crossed, everything goes good for them. I really need a Muscovy lover to come get some of these babies, when they are bigger of course. I can't stand the thought of taking the momma's babies away before they are ready for them to go. They work too hard with all the nest location hunting, building the nest, laying an egg everyday, sitting on the eggs for 32 to 35 days, only leaving the nest once a day to quickly eat, drink and poop, then waiting for 24 hours while all the eggs hatch out with no break at all, and then having to keep all the little floofies together and not lose any, trekking all the way back to the lot to show off the babies, and then having to teach them everything they know in 2 months. All while keeping them as safe as possible, from predators and other Muscovies.. But we will definitely have to find homes for some of the 24 babies, not to mention the other 4 hens still sitting. We are liable to have 100 babies this year. . Sometimes, I feel like I'm getting used to the pain of losing flock mates, then sometimes Its unbearable. The last few months, have been the most unbearable without my house duck. She was my baby, and I'll never stop missing her. I'm not sure I'll ever stop crying for her. I knew the day would come when we would have to part ways, due to one of us passing away, but she didn't even make it to her 3rd birthday, which would've been around the end of august. If anybody would have told me 4 yeats ago, that I'd have my heartbroken from my best duck friend passing away, I might have said you were crazy as heck. I never thought it would hurt this much. I never thought a little yellow floofy ball of 3 day old Pekin duck would forever change my life, and start this duckin journey. She was our first duck ever. She is the reason we went to the evil stocksale looking for another duck. Just 1. And because of the mistreatment and utter disrespect those horrible people showed towards the ducks that day, we left with 10 ducks, 7 chickens, 3 pheasants and 3 chukars. Dang this tender heart. It's a freaking curse.

 

[wrathsfarm]

I agree.... move the broody.

In my experience I've never had a hen get attached to certain eggs.
It's the same nest she usually wants to goes back to, but sometimes they get confused and will get in the wrong nest especially if there's eggs in it.

They just want to sit.

I would suggest if you have no other broodys sitting, to be diligent about collecting eggs as often as you can to prevent her from getting into the wrong nest box. She'll then seek out 'her' eggs.

Apologies.. I might have missed the part about the 'broody' being a duck. I have no experience here as both of mine are females and have never gone broody.
So I'm not sure how they react with nests and eggs compared to chickens which was what my post was towards.

Hope everything works out to be a successful hatch for your girl.

 

[ducklover128]

Apologies.. I might have missed the part about the 'broody' being a duck. I have no experience here as both of mine are females and have never gone broody.
So I'm not sure how they react with nests and eggs compared to chickens which was what my post was towards.

Hope everything works out to be a successful hatch for your girl.

Broody is a chicken. Woke up this morning, her and 3 babies were running around the run. She went in a small fenced off section, and my husband put up a gate so nobody could bother her or the babies. Well, I was out watering the ducks, and heard very loud chirping. I knew it wasn't coming from the 3 new ones, or any of the 48 ducklings.... So I went to the chicken coop, and there in her nest, was another baby that hatched out. I went and caught her babies and took them to the nest, and thank goodness she followed. She got in the nest with the newest baby, and the 3 she had already. What in the world should I do?!? I have no freaking idea. Should I just let her be? I'm sure I can't move the eggs around in case somebody else is gonna hatch. She is in a right broody mood .... I'm afraid she will trample somebody if I put my hand in there. I'm totally lost. I want to help and make sure everyone is ok, but I don't want to mess up anything. Man, I had no idea chickening was so hard.... I just don't wanna be responsible for any more deaths. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.. please and thank you.

 

[ducklover128]

Thank you. It's just been a horrible year for our poor ducks ...I woke up to an absolute nightmare on june 28. My house duck, bff, confidant, emotional support and mental support baby girl, unexpectedly passed away sometime that morning. I'm still devastated, heartbroken and lost. Within a week of her sudden death, a week old baby Muscovy got attacked by a snake and my husband got it and unwrapped the snake from the baby and of course she had to come inside to recover. And of course I started to get attached. She ended up being named after none other than the wonderful Ms. Lydia who always helps when me, or anybody else, has a Muscovy issue or duck issue. About a week went by, and one of our fave Muscovy hens was attacked and murdered. Another week later, our first head Muscovy hen, Mo Scovy, and 3 of her teenage babies, were attacked, the 3 teens were dead when we found them and Mo, who was missing alot of her back meat, died a day later. Another week later, our goose, Ms. Goosey, was attacked and horribly injured, and she died the next day. THEN, I went outside today, and found Ms. Lydia and one of her brothers, murdered.....it was not long after that, we discovered the poor hen who sadly went to the wrong nesting box, and then the poor tiny baby Muscovy who was laying off to the side of the "nursery" , wet, cold and not moving much at all. Brought the baby inside, tried to warm it up, and it died in my hands. Hopefully the poor ducks get a break for a little while. We did have 2 hens hatch out 25 babies, even though one of them died earlier tonight. . You gotta love those little floofy babies though. We have 4 more Muscovy hens sitting on nests, so fingers crossed, everything goes good for them. I really need a Muscovy lover to come get some of these babies, when they are bigger of course. I can't stand the thought of taking the momma's babies away before they are ready for them to go. They work too hard with all the nest location hunting, building the nest, laying an egg everyday, sitting on the eggs for 32 to 35 days, only leaving the nest once a day to quickly eat, drink and poop, then waiting for 24 hours while all the eggs hatch out with no break at all, and then having to keep all the little floofies together and not lose any, trekking all the way back to the lot to show off the babies, and then having to teach them everything they know in 2 months. All while keeping them as safe as possible, from predators and other Muscovies.. But we will definitely have to find homes for some of the 24 babies, not to mention the other 4 hens still sitting. We are liable to have 100 babies this year. . Sometimes, I feel like I'm getting used to the pain of losing flock mates, then sometimes Its unbearable. The last few months, have been the most unbearable without my house duck. She was my baby, and I'll never stop missing her. I'm not sure I'll ever stop crying for her. I knew the day would come when we would have to part ways, due to one of us passing away, but she didn't even make it to her 3rd birthday, which would've been around the end of august. If anybody would have told me 4 yeats ago, that I'd have my heartbroken from my best duck friend passing away, I might have said you were crazy as heck. I never thought it would hurt this much. I never thought a little yellow floofy ball of 3 day old Pekin duck would forever change my life, and start this duckin journey. She was our first duck ever. She is the reason we went to the evil stocksale looking for another duck. Just 1. And because of the mistreatment and utter disrespect those horrible people showed towards the ducks that day, we left with 10 ducks, 7 chickens, 3 pheasants and 3 chukars. Dang this tender heart. It's a freaking curse.

We had another momma show up, with 20 baby ducks trailing behind her. Later that day, I went in the duck nursery to check on everyone, and a baby duck got its head and neck caught under the gate, and I didn't know. I heard it and went looking. I went in and put my hands on the gate, which had the poor baby's head and neck caught under it. . I brought it inside, and it died a little while later. I did not know there was so much death involved with poultry. They make me so happy, and so sad when things happen. I know things are gonna happen, especially with animals that are at the bottom of the food chain, but dang it this is ridiculous. I swear our little "farms" name is gonna be bi-polar poultry.

 

[Yardmom]

Having the broody hen stay on the nest until all hatch is best, but doesn't always go as planned. Unfortunately moving the eggs to her doesn't usually work. Occasionally another broody or incubator is needed if a hatch gets staggered.

Will add to go with the original concern. One time I locked a broody away from her eggs between morning and evening chores. Temps were about 70°. She still had 100% hatch.

 

[ducklover128]

great - there's real hope then. Is she back o

Having the broody hen stay on the nest until all hatch is best, but doesn't always go as planned. Unfortunately moving the eggs to her doesn't usually work. Occasionally another broody or incubator is needed if a hatch gets staggered.

Will add to go with the original concern. One time I locked a broody away from her eggs between morning and evening chores. Temps were about 70°. She still had 100% hatc

Is there anything I can do or should do or shouldn't do? I'm so worried about the little baby. I don't even know if it's still attached to some shell or not. I have no experience with this. This is our first chicken to hatch any babies. I already almost killed one